Change
by Halsh
Summary: It's been a year since the end of the war, and Hermione's life has returned to normal. She has a well job at the ministry and a boyfriend, but everything changes when a new co-worker steps into her life.
1. Chapter 1

A/N : Hello to anyone who happens to stumble upon my story. First I'd like to say this is my first story so if I've made some mistake of some sort please just let me know. Second, while I am a fan of the series, I'm not an extreme fanatic. So, there may be some errors in terminology and such, please just bear with me. If it really bothers anyone that much, again please just let me know. I'd love to hear some feedback or reviews on my first piece, so any if appreciated! With that said, please enjoy reading.

* * *

"YOU GET BACK HERE!"

"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME!"

"RON I SWEAR!"

Hermione turned just in time to see Ron grinning like a madman right before he plowed into her, sending the both of them crashing to the ground. "Ouch! That hurt, Ron! Why can't you be more careful!" she squeezed out. "And won't you get up? You're crushing me!"

Ron lifted his head and grinned. "Sorry about that Hermione." he laughed as he ran a hand through her hair. She blushed, trying to think of anything to say in return when Ron was suddenly hoisted up by the neck of his shirt.

"I can't believe you Ron!" Ginny admonished, red faced.

"LET GO GINNY!" he snapped back, their voices rose as Hermione scrabbled to her feet.

"Hold on a minute, what's going on with you two now?" she asked.

Ginny whipped her head towards her, never letting go of Ron's shirt. "He read my diary!"

"RONALD!" a new voice boomed. Ron groaned. The three looked to the doorway to see Molly Weasley storming towards them. Ginny's grip loosened and Ron quickly distanced himself from her. "How many times have I told you to keep to yourself! Why must you insist on upsetting your sister!"

"Oh, come on mum. It's just a stupid diary."

Ginny's head snapped towards him. "Just a stupid-

"Er... Dinner's ready." Harry piped up nervously from the hall.

"Right then." Ron beamed at his friend. "Time to eat! No point in ruining this special day." He chirped as he pushed his way past the women, past Harry and into the dining room. Harry exchanged a look with the women and shrugged. Mrs. Weasley gave a sigh.

"Right. You too my dears." she ushered them into the next room where everyone was getting seated. Once everyone was settled she spoke up once more, "Right. I know things have been hectic since the end of the war. I've said this before, but I am so proud of all of you." She beamed, temporarily forgetting the previous scene.

"Right, and congratulations on finding yourselves proper jobs in the ministry!" Arthur put in.

"Hear hear!" Fred and George chimed.

"Can we please eat now I'm starved!" Ron whined eyeing the potatoes. Mrs. Weasley shook her head and smiled as she sat down and everyone began to eat. Hermione took a bite of her meatloaf and smiled. It had been a year since the war had ended and everything had just started to settle down. Harry and Ron had just received news of their acceptance into the Auror department. Of course who would deny this to the Boy Who Lived and his best mate who had come together to fight off the Dark Lord. Hermione herself had just received a job offer in the department of Muggle Studies, while Fred and George had gone back to managing their shop. What with things finally turning around after the end of the war and the reopening of Hogwarts, business was better than ever. "By the way, have you all seen the paper? It seems Malfoy, the prat, has also landed a job at the Ministry."

"Really?" Hermione asked interested. "Under which department?"

"How should I know?" Ron snorted. "That just means we'll probably be running into him often is all." Ron scowled but quickly forgot as he filled his mouth with more food. Hermione made a face at Ron's now covered face and sighed realizing he was right. They no doubt would be seeing more of Malfoy now that he was working so closely. She found she wasn't even all that surprised that he had managed to get a job in the ministry. After all, his father had been pardoned due to the information he had given on the wherabouts of other death eaters and the Malfoy influence was still a force to be reckoned with. And it's not like he was completely daft, she mused. Actually throughout their years at Hogwarts he had proven himself to be quite intelligent. That doesn't change the fact that he's still absolutely horrid. She thought to herself.

After dinner had been finished and cleared, the household dispersed. Fred and George apparated away to their shop, whispering excitedly over some new exploding sweet, while Ginny had whisked Harry away to look at the family of rabbits she had discovered earlier. Hermione and Ron drifted up the stairs to Ron's room. It had been a year since they started dating. As soon as Ron had entered his room he threw himself upon his bed comfortably. "Wow, I'm stuffed."

"I'm not surprised. You did eat half the table." Hermione replied. Ron flipped over on his stomach to face her. "Are you excited?" she asked.

"For what?"

"To start work at the ministry."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess so." Ron replied lazily.

"You guess so? Being an Auror is a huge job Ron."

"I know Hermione. Look can we talk about something else? I'm in a good mood. I don't want to talk about work. "

"Okay then. What do you want to talk about?" She asked bringing a hand to her hip.

"I dunno." They were silent. Hermione stared at him and watched as he turned his back to her and scratched his leg.

"Really Ron?"

"What now?" He turned to face her.

"... Nothing." She huffed and turned to the door.

"Where are you going?" Ron called from the bed.

"I don't know Ron. I guess I'll go see what Ginny's up to." she answered roughly heading down the stairs.

* * *

"Here's the next one." Hermione looked up from the pile of papers on her desk. Her secretary handed her the folder.

"Thank you Elle." She received the folder. "I've only been here a week and I'm already drowning in work." She sighed.

Her secretary gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know. Think of it this way. At least they know you're capable enough to give you all this work. They're acknowledging your abilities."

"I suppose..."

Her secretary turned to leave but stopped at the door. "Oh by the way, the new employee is coming in today. You remember I told you about him."

"Is that right?" she smiled. "Thanks for letting me know." Her secretary shut the door. Hermione rested her chin in her hands for a moment. She looked back down to the jumble of papers with a sigh. Wondering who her new partner was, she went back to work.

Three hours later Hermione was deep into her papers. Nearly finished. She vaguely heard voices outside her office. "-And here's your office. Your partner should already be in. Why don't you gather your things from Eliza here and come in." The head of the department entered her room.

"Oh! Hello sir!" Hermione stood hurriedly to greet the man.

"Evening, Granger. How's the work coming?"

"I've actually just finished."

"Fantastic! As expected of the brilliant Hermione Granger." Hermione flushed at the comment. "You're new co-worker has just arrived. Why don't you come in now?" He called to the door. A young man strolled in. "I understand you two attended the same institution." Hermione regarded the new member. Tall, thin. He had blonde hair, so bright it was almost silver. A sharp nose, thin lips and dark grey eyes. Hermione gawked at the man. "-incident with some rogue wizard gang..." The director was saying. Something about the new project the two were to be working on together, but Hermione wasn't listening. She looked at the man's eyes and saw them flash for a moment. Recognition? Surprise? When she looked again it was gone, replaced by a cool look of indifference.

Meanwhile, Draco had indeed recognized Hermione Granger, and noticed with surprise that she had made quite a change in appearance. Her once bushy hair had been tamed, replaced by soft golden curls. Her cheeks more prominent, and her eyes once empty and filled with worry now replaced with a new glint with the end of the war. The director paused to look at a clock hanging on the wall behind her. "Well, it's late now. I suppose since you've finished your work Granger you're free to go. Actually, why don't you take Malfoy here and get reacquainted over dinner?" With that he swept out of the room. Hermione's mouth opened impossibly wider as she watched him leave.

Draco Malfoy cleared his throat and Hermione, startled, turned to him. "Well, let's get on with it then." Draco drawled and walked away out the room. Hermione stood a moment before shaking herself and grabbing her bag to hurry after him.

* * *

A/N : Yes I kept both Fred and George alive. Killing one off is too cruel ._.


	2. Chapter 2

"What is it?" Draco's voice interrupted Hermione's thoughts. She shook her head. Still unable to adjust. There was something very strange about seeing Draco Malfoy, hot headed pureblood, hater of muggles, wearing transformed muggle clothes sitting in a small tucked away muggle diner. When he had ordered her to lead him anywhere, she had not actually expected him to follow.

"Nothing." She finally managed. Silence followed. He looked bored. After struggling to think of something to say she opted for bluntness. "What are you doing in Muggle Studies?"

"Had to start somewhere." He stated carelessly. Silence. More silence. Looking irritated he rose. "Right, now if we're done here-"

"Wait!" Draco paused. "You're leaving?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I see no further reason to stay and suffer this unbearable silence."

Hermione couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Was she not interesting enough? Not good enough to have a conversation with? "We're already here." She said hotly. Then more gently, "Won't you eat first?" He looked back to her and gave an exasperated sigh, but sank back to his seat. Hermione smiled to herself and ordered for the two of them. Draco sat and watched her. What was he doing here anyway? He could just go home rather than waste his time eating a meal here with Granger. He shuddered inwardly. Why of all people was he with her?

They sat there awkwardly, neither knowing what to say. Hermione shriveled inwardly. What could have possibly compelled her to ask him to stay? She hadn't actually expected him to, but now that he had, what could she possibly say to keep him there? Her eyes scanned the room for inspiration when he spoke. "so..." she looked to him. "It seems you've managed to find a job in the wizarding world. I'd have thought you'd be helping your father in denting muggles." he said snidely.

"He's a dentist." she snapped back annoyed. "And of course I have." She drew herself up straight. "I'm a wizard." He coughed and looked away, muttering a quick 'hardly'. Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?" Draco was saved the labor of making some excuse by the arrival of the bus boy, come to deliver their food. "Thank you very much." Hermione said to the boy, giving him a polite smile. The boy blushed and scurried away.

Of course this went unnoticed by Draco who smirked and gave a snort. "Looks like you've got an admirer Granger. Who'd have thought?" Her eyes narrowed to slits. "I mean really," he continued, encouraged by her reaction, "Little bushy haired, buck toothed bookwort Granger. A suitor, and a mere muggle bus boy at that." He picked up his fork, waving it for effect. "It's just perfect." Hermione felt the anger boiling up within her. I knew this would happen, she thought bitterly.

"I'll have you know I've had several admirers." She spouted instinctively. "And I also happen to currently be in a relationship." Malfoy snorted and led his fork to his plate.

"With who? Weasel?"

"That's right," Malfoy surprised himself by stabbing his fork down harder than he had intended to, but quickly regained his composure. He noticed with satisfying relief that this seemed to go unnoticed by Hermione who continued, "and I would prefer you not call him a weasel. He's ten times the man you are and a loyal friend." she finished hotly. Malfoy, unable to think of a response shoved a forkful of food to his mouth. Hermione plowed on, "I mean during the entirety of the war Ron was out there in the real world in the face of danger to help protect thousands of people and fought off curses, death eaters and monsters alike." she paused to take a breath.

"You know, this muggle grain isn't all that bad." he interrupted truthfully. Hermione taken aback at the sudden change in topic crinkled her nose in confusion.

"You mean butter noodle."

"Bless you." Hermione's brows raised. "Not hungry?" Draco asked gesturing to her plate. Flustered and confused Hermione mechanically took a sip of her soup. Draco sighed inwardly. The mere mention of Weasley irked him. They finished their meals quickly with only the sound of silverware against dishes to fill the silence. Malfoy insisted he pay offering an annoying comment about his vast wealth, shoving an annoyed Hermione's hands away. He stood at the counter looking back and forth between the cash register screen and the wad of foreign bills in his hand. Hermione gawked at the wad and after some moments dug out her own cash again and thrust it at the cashier before pushing a protesting Draco out of the restaurant and onto the deserted street. "What do you think you're doing?" He yelled spinning around.

"Honestly Malfoy. You offer to pay and don't even know how much money you need to give? And you can't go around holding that big wad of money around. You'll be robbed." Draco only gave a shrug and hermione gave up. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." She called to Draco's already retreating back. She sighed and turned away.

"Oh Granger," he spoke before he could stop himself, his back still towards her. She paused. "Tonight was... fine." He finished lamely. Cursing himself mentally, he apparated away before he could hear her response. She stood surprised and turned to face him, but he was already gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione arrived in her apartment. She set her bag on the rack and shrugged off her coat. She head toward the bathroom eagerly to take a nice hot bath before falling into a deep sleep. Suddenly a large figure emerged from her room. She gave a shriek and threw her arms up to protect herself.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" The man spoke gruffly. Hermione lowered her arms and gaped at the man in front of her.

"Ron?" He crossed his arms. "When did you get here? What are you doing inside my apartment?" she asked him incredulously.

"Wondering where on earth my girlfriend is!" he answered hotly. "You weren't answering any of my owls."

"So you entered my apartment while I was away?"

"Away doing what?" He yelled, voice rising.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She was becoming irritated. "That's not really your business is it? I was out to dinner with my new co-worker." Ron's face hardened.

"Why?" He asked flatly.

"Excuse me?"

"Why were you out to dinner without a word of it to me. Who was it?" he forced out.

Hermione was taken aback. Her surprise was soon replaced with anger. "Since when do I need your permission to see another person? He's just a co-worker Ron. It's easier to work together when we know more about eachother." She couldn't believe they were having this conversation again. She was sick of going through the same lines everytime she was seen by him with any other man. Including Harry.

"So it is a man." He glared.

She shook her head. "I'm not in the mood for this tonight Ron. We'll finish this another time." She moved to her room.

"Like hell we will." He growled grabbing her arm. "We'll finish this now!" She froze. "Let go of me Ron." He spun her around to face him and pulled her against him.

"Ron, I think you should lea-" she was interrupted when he put a hand to the back of her head pushing their lips together. She tried to turn her head away but he held her firm with his hand, his lips insistent. Hermione gathered her strength and pushed him away. "What are you doing?" she demanded. His eyes flashed.

"Oh, so now you have time to go out to dinner with some other git, but not to kiss me?" he raged.

"Not when you're like this, Ron!" she cried in exasperation. She fixed him with a cold stare. "You should leave."

He glared at her for a few moments and narrowed his eyes. "You've changed."

"Yes, that's not the problem Ron. The problem is that you haven't. I'm growing into an adult and setting priorities for myself. I take my work seriously and now when to separate my work life from my personal life, and I think things through. You don't. You're still the same young impulsive and immature boy you were back in Hogwarts." She shot back defiantly. His anger deepened.

"What did you say?"

She gave him no answer. He turned suddenly and disappeared with a pop. Hermione released the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding and sank to the ground. Lately, her encounters with Ron had been leaving her exhausted and confused. She dragged herself up to the bathroom to turn on the faucet, and allowed the tub to fill with hot water for a much needed bath.

* * *

Draco sat at his desk positively bored. He stretched his arms out on his desk in front of him and lay his head down sideways. He let out a deep breath and groaned, running a hand through his was he here? He had yet to be assigned any actual work. Yet he was told to come in anyway so he could get adjusted to the new setting. Well, he had done that. Was long past that point. He instead decided to shift around in his chair to find the most comfortable position to sleep in.

He startled and sat up right then when Hermione pushed open the door. "Where have you been? You're late." he clipped at her. Hermione, taken by surprise spun to face him. Recovering, she raised her chin at him.

"I'm not." she retorted defiantly. Draco delicately raised an eyebrow and waited until she had her back to him to sneak a glance at the clock on the wall behind him. Eight thirty sharp. His brow arched higher as he registered this. He realized now that he had not even paused this morning to think to check the time and had somehow arrived some thirty or forty minutes early. Jow strange he thought vaguely. By this time Hermione had already settled at her desk and began to read over the days letters, leaving Draco to once again wallow in his boredom. He leaned a head back over the top of his seat and shut his eyes to sleep. Not with Granger in the room! he cursed himself mentally. Not wanting to appear weak or such, he opened his eyes once more, but he was so very tired. Deciding to compromise, he swiveled his chair until he had his back to Hermione where he promptly slid down a few inches so as not to be seen. With a nice stretch of his long legs he allowed his heavy eyelids to close.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N PLEASE READ** : **First off I'd like to state I see that I have some viewers from the UK which I am nowhere near. So... I guess I'd like to ask any readers not to be offended or put off by the way I make the characters word certain things. Secondly, I'm writing these chapters kind of in one go then uploading, and i'm not really putting much thought into the process. Like the readers, I'm not even sure where this story is going. That being said I may make some adjustments or delete and rewrite chapters entirely. So I will be giving those updates through these notes at the beginning of each chapter so please look out for those. Lastly, I would very much appreciate some feedback on this story. It's my first, I'm inexperienced, I doubt every word I produce. I may finish to the end or I may scrap the whole thing depending on feedback I receive. After all what's the point of writing stories for people to read that they won't enjoy? That said, thanks for reading.

* * *

Draco was stirred awake by a gentle hand shaking his shoulder. He lazily opened his eyes and was slightly surprised to see a pair staring back at him. She lifted a corner of her mouth in a smirk and he looked back in surprise. She gave ha small chuckle and leaned close to him. Try as he might he could not bring himself to make any movement. He just sat there transfixed byu those eyes. She gave him then a sultry look and moved closer to him. He automatically lifted a hand and brought it to run through her smooth curls. She brought herself coyly onto his lap, her hands finding their way around his neck and she breathed into his ear.

"Draco."

He shivered with excitement. his heart was beating faster and faster. Unable to take it, he put his hands firmly to her back and brought her to him. She allowed herself to be pulled forward willingly and moved her hands to grasp at the neck of his robes, as she shut his eyes. THen her lips were upon his. Smooth and warm.

"Malfoy?"

His eyes fluttered open. She was gone. He turned to his left and saw Hermione standing in front of his desk, giving him an odd look. "Honestly, have you been asleep all this time? How could you sleep a whole day after just waking up in the morning?"she rolled her eyes, walking back to her desk. "It's nearly eleven. You're free to go." Draco looked back at the clock with surprise to see it was indeed past his time to go. He stood with a stretch and gathered his things. Hermione had now collected her belongings and was at the door. "Now you are aware that tomorrow is the weened." She said slowly, "You won't have to come in."

Slightly annoyed Draco snapped back. "Of course I do." She seemed to have remembered something and moved towards him. He flushed unintentionally as he recalled his dream and coughed to the side, but she was moving past him and retrieved a file from her desk. She walked back to the door. "I guess I'll see you on Monday then."

"U-uh... Right." he stammered. After shooting him one last look, she was gone. He stood awhile looking after her. What in the world has just happened. He moved to her desk and leaned against it. The details of his dream rushing back to him. He put his hands to his head tightly and cringed. There's no way in hell. No way in bloody hell I would wish to have Granger. The know-it-all prat. He found himself fingering a card from her desk and absentmindedly slipped it into his pocket. He needed to get out of here. Get Her out of here. Out of his thoughts. He decided he needed company. Blaise had been meaning to introduce him to a new club.

* * *

He found himself two hours later sitting at a table with Blaise under dim blue lights, and very very drunk. Blaise nudged him. "Oi, I think she's looking to you." he nodded in the direction of a very attractive woman. She was tall and shapely. With a strapless black dress that barely covered her behind. She was leaning against a counter and when he made eye contact she smiled and moved towards him. Blaise gave his a sly grin and with a light slap on the back he was gone. Draco welcomed the much needed distraction but was feeling a bit ill from all the drinks. He managed a smile for the girl as she slid in next to him. His eyes were pulled down quickly towards her spilling cleavage and he didn't notice when she spoke to him. The woman grabbed his chin playfully and brought him to face her. "What?" he asked dumbly. She laughed loudly and kissed him. He shut his eyes and allowed her to lean into him. He still didn't particularly enjoy Granger's presence but in this moment he could live with it. Wait a minute. Granger?! His eyes flew open and he pushed the stranger away. Without giving an explanation he stumbled away and found his way out the door into the cold air outside. What was that? What was happening to him? He made a mental note not to drink after meeting with the prat as his mind obviously enjoyed playing tricks on him. He stumbled around until he found himself at a pier. He sat down on the wooden planks and leaned against the rail looking out at the water, every second losing more control of his thoughts as the effects of the alcohol took over.

* * *

Hermione was roused awake by the noise at her window. She gave a muffled scream of annoyance into her pillow and finally dragged herself out of bed when she realized the thing wasn't going away. She went to the window and saw a small gray owl. She groaned and let the creature in long enough to untie the letter before shooing it away. She had worked later than usual that day and after parting from Malfoy she had run into an angry looking Ron, who had pulled her outside and yelled at her in the cold. He had demanded to know why she hadn't contacted him when she got off work and just what was taking her so long to apologize. She was exhausted and he reeked of alcohol. She argued with him trying to get him to see reason and to see that he was drunk for a while. When she finally returned to her flat it was well past midnight. She glanced at the clock. 4:17 AM. Annoyance welled up in her chest as she unfurled the paper and stared. It was a flyer. To a club? She was about to toss the paper away when her eyes caught on a single word scrawled on the back.

Outside.

What on earth? She wondered. She shook herself awake. Who would send me an owl at this hour? She reasoned it must be Ron. out clubbing after their argument and now in need of her assistance. She considered leaving him to suffer alone, but he conscience wouldn't allow it. SHe sighed as she pulled on her jacket and muttered a warming charm. She apparated to the area listed on the flyer.


End file.
